Teaching Kitchen of Lee Health. -URTE IZDONAVICIUTE / COURTESY PHOTO
Coconut Point’s teaching kitchen received recognition as among the world’s most effective teaching kitchens for improving health and benefiting the planet.
The Teaching Kitchen of Estero, Lee Health Healthy Life Center Teaching Kitchen, was accepted into the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC), a network of education, research and community organizations with teaching kitchens dedicated to improving personal, public, and planetary health.
“At Lee Health, our Teaching Kitchen has become a community hub for learning, cooking, and healing,” said Lee Health Registered Dietitian Aikaterina Galeos. “Over the past seven years, we have evolved from a simple cooking classroom into a dynamic program that blends hands-on culinary experiences with evidence-based nutrition education. We offer a wide range of classes, including some fun, engaging sessions and some targeted programs supporting chronic disease management. With our teaching garden and community partnerships, we empower people to build healthier lives.”
Lee Health Healthy Life Center Teaching Kitchen joins over 70 organizations, including Google, Compass Group, and Cleveland Clinic in leading the teaching kitchen movement to transform health outcomes in the U.S. and globally.
At the Lee Health Healthy Life Center Teaching Kitchen, the community enjoys interactive cooking demonstrations and hands-on experiences that inspire healthier living. Since 2018, the Teaching Kitchen has successfully hosted more than 800 culinary experiences. This summer, the Kitchen in Estero officially became part of the global Collaborative.
More than a place to cook, the Teaching Kitchen is a gathering space where people connect, learn, and grow together. Through partnerships with both internal teams and community organizations, it has become a true hub of wellness, rooted in community and population health needs.
“Joining the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative marks an exciting milestone in our Wellness journey,” Lee Health Vice President of Wellness and Recovery Dana Begley said. “It strengthens our commitment to integrating the healing power of food, nutrition, and lifestyle education directly into the care we provide. The Collaborative’s patient-centered approach aligns with Lee Health’s strategy and broader vision: to become the premier healthcare system in Southwest Florida, empowering our community to support successful habits. Our care is not only clinically excellent but also deeply rooted in wellness and prevention.”
“We are proud to welcome Lee Health into the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative,” Kate Welch, executive director of the TKC said. “As a leading health system, their commitment to advancing Food Is Medicine and integrating teaching kitchens into clinical care is a powerful step toward transforming how we prevent and treat disease. With Lee Health’s partnership, we strengthen the evidence that food and nutrition can be central to care delivery, which improves outcomes for patients while advancing the future of healthcare.”
The TKC is the only non-profit membership organization dedicated to advancing the reproducibility, scalability, and evaluation of emerging teaching kitchen models and educational programs across medical, academic, community, and corporate settings. Founded in 2016 by leaders from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health–Department of Nutrition and the Culinary Institute of America, the TKC began as an invitational network of early adopters using teaching kitchens as a public health intervention. In 2020, the TKC became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. Today, it thrives as a growing global network of Organization, Corporate, and Professional Members committed to sharing best practices, building the evidence base, and developing practical tools that support the expansion and impact of teaching kitchens in the US and around the world.
To learn more about Lee Health Healthy Life Center Teaching Kitchen visit LeetHealth.org and visit the Healthy Life Center of Coconut Point in Estero, 23450 Via Coconut Point, 239-468-0050.
For more on the TKC and a list of members, visit teachingkitchens.org.
